Which Bschools

Question

Which US B-Schools Round 2. How many schools I should apply and which schools i can consider as safe.
Planning to apply
HBS, Wharton, Booth, Columbia
Duke, Darden, Ross, Tuck
Tepper, and considering Kenan-Flagler (UNC) as well. Confused where all I should apply
Kindly Advise

Background Merchant Navy Third Officer
Nationality: Indian
Age: 27
GMAT (Verbal Quant break up): 770 Q50 V46

Education, GPA- Bachelor of Science In Nautical Science (3 Years Degree) / 70 % Grade First Class

Work Experience, Industry- Maritime Industry 5 Years International experience on Oil/ Chemical Tanker Terminals all over the world / In charge of Navigation of Merchant Ship in international waters

Extra-curricular – Swimming, Environmental Campaigns, Family Business Of Automobiles

Post MBA Goal – Consulting

Target geography- USA

CrackAdmission · Answer

Dear Shivamrr19 , Please find below the difficulty level of admission for each of the schools you have mentioned: HBS High Wharton High CBS High Tepper Low UNC Low Booth Medium Duke Medium Darden Medium Ross Medium Tuck Medium You can apply to as many schools as you want but considering that there needs to be a lot of groundwork and thorough research about each school so that you can come up with impactful and personalized stories, you should limit the number of applications to 05. From your initial list and keeping in mind, you would want to pursue consulting, below is my recommendation of the schools you should apply to: 2 High: HBS & Wharton 2 Medium: Booth & Duke 1 Low: Tepper Please feel free to reach out to me at arijit.biswas@crackadmission.com in case you seek professional guidance around your application journey. Cheers and all the very best Arijit

TheIvyLeagueEdge · Answer

1) All schools are not the same for everyone. For example, Harvard's extremely competitive culture is very unlike the very community based culture at Yale & Duke. While you may have read this at many places, which school works better for you will also depend a lot on WHAT and WHERE you want to go with your MBA degree.
2) Your story may align your "Consulting" goals to work better in Ops Consulting. Whether you actually go into Ops, or Strategy, your career goals should also direct your choice of school. While many of us don't pay enough heed to this concern, assuming internet has shortened distances, there is still nothing as good as face-to-face meetings and networking. And for that reason, some schools may be good with a certain goal, while others may work better in another domain. 
3) While your Age, WE (years) etc are very good for M-7 (top tier schools) as well, including Harvard, Wharton, Booth and even Kellogg, the truth is how compelling your story is, and how well are you able to highlight your accomplishments, and your degree of leadership, will immensely impact (positively or negatively) your applications. 
4) Finally, extremely important to note that the GMAT score is just ONE of the many factors of your candidature. And yes, all those stories of candidates with stellar GMATs (including 770) bombing even the top-20 schools are true, often because of their overconfidence that their scores, and their somewhat desirable WE profile may carry them through everything.

So, in case all your other factors are strong, and you are able to bring along compelling stories in your application, you have a decent chance at EACH of the schools you have listed.

Please ping for a detailed 1-to-1 discussion of your profile and to ask any questions.

MBAandBeyond · Answer

Hi Shivamrr19 , Thanks for your post. Starting with the academics, you have a stellar GMAT score. However, your GPA falls on the lower end, but the GMAT score will compensate for the low GPA. Coming to your work experience, 5 years in the maritime industry is great. However, you will need to demonstrate significant influence you have created and specifically mention instances where you embraced leadership responsibilities and guided your organization through a difficult situation, as it would be a crucial element for your profile. ECs are crucial to your application. However, your ECs seem quite generic. To illustrate your commitments, try highlighting your involvement in charitable activities. Your ECAs could end up being your best asset if you only add a little more information about the challenges faced, the measures taken, some amazing leadership examples, new skills developed, and a bit about the whole experience. Also, for your reference, I suggest you go through our article on How to draft Exemplary ECAs for MBA Application , to understand the importance of crafting ECAs essays that inspire.! Considering the post- MBA goals, consulting is quite general. You would need to be clear about your short and long term goals, and also justify the ‘Why an MBA’ question by the AdComs. The highlight of your application should also include how the college you are targeting will help you achieve your goals. You have a good chances at Duke, Booth, Ross and Tuck. We have recently helped a military veteran to get admits from Ross, Mc Combs, Emory, Kelly with 130K USD scholarship . Overall you have a great profile. All you need to do is align your goals with the ideals of the schools you are aiming for. Finally, how you connect the dots and create a compelling narrative around it will determine a lot. If you'd like, we'd be pleased to speak with you on a call at some point this week to go over your options in further depth and adequately allay any concerns. Feel free to submit your profile here for a profile evaluation & get additional benefits. We'll be happy to assist you and enhance your profile. Cheers! Neha Hadke Strategy Manager Testimonials Email: neha@mbaandbeyond.com Visit our website www.mbaandbeyond.com for more MBA resources.

MBAGuide · Answer

Hi  Shivamrr19  hope this finds you well

You have a stellar profile and good chance of making it to most schools on your list depending on how well you execute your application and interviews

My two cents

1. Although applying to a wide variety of schools is suggested due to the significant competition in R2 at US colleges, you should aim to narrow your choices to 4-5 institutions and spend time getting to know the school that you choose. With a well-executed application, I believe Tepper, Ross, Tuck Duke, KF, and others can be easy converts. Of course, you must conduct extensive research on Programs' intricacies to improve your chances. For example, at Ross, you might take advantage of the Tauber supply chain specialization during your MBA, leveraging your prior experience and pitching S&O Consulting post-MBA goals.

Go all out when it comes to networking and obtaining a read on your profile from alumni who have taken a similar path as you if you want to get into the more competitive schools. Eventually, having them on your side will enable you to present yourself in the best possible light.

2. Strengthen your goals narrative. Consulting goals are pretty common and generic. A compelling long-term goal that uses consulting (and/or a Plan B) as a steppingstone to take on bigger impact responsibilities is one way to separate out from the competition.

Best wishes

MBADecoder · Answer

Hi,

First of all, congratulations on an excellent GMAT score. The stellar score will help you keep your head up in the competitive MBA application process for a lot longer time, however, a great GMAT score is never the only reason why a b-school will admit you. So, you will still have to write stellar applications, and we can help you do that. 
 
From our past experience of working with merchant navy applicants, i know that your careers allow for several leadership opportunities. You guys develop the ability to think on your feet, take quick decisions and act persuasively. These qualities (if you possess them) are sought by b-schools and will help you craft competitive applications. 
I am not so sure yet about your choice of b-schools as you seem to have randomly picked names. Paring this list down to fewer b-schools and to the ones that make sense for you given your post MBA goals is going to help you apply to a right set of b-schools, therefore maximizing your chances for admits. Another thing- applicants with ops profiles fit very well for leadership development programs and more senior operations roles- I hope that you are also considering these as part of your post MBA career goals (although you will need to present a single career goal in your applications). just FYI- Fedex and Amazon have operations leadership programs which can be suitable for you. If you were to go with this advice, you will need to pick the appropriate b-schools from the list above. I would advise you to apply to 5-7 b-schools at best in one application cycle. That is a big task and it would be commendable if you can do justice to all your applications.

Another thing that could be a plus in your candidature is international experience/ exposure- do you get an opportunity to work with teams from across borders? b-schools value international experience, specifically your take aways and learnings from this experience.

Which Bschools

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards